Flu jabbers not to be sniffed at

Following the fantastic results of the national pharmacy flu vaccination to date, the PSNC have spoken to pharmacists to find the secrets of their success.

Current top community flu jabber in England, as of 28 October, is Nat Mitchell of Allison & Sons pharmacy who has administered more than 1000 injections.

Nat says: “Giving flu vaccinations might be out of some people’s comfort zone but, even though prescriptions are still important, this is something we need to embrace and you should have more faith in yourself.”

Pharmacy2U facing further investigation

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The UK’s largest NHS-approved online pharmacy is under investigation by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) for flogging the details of 21,500 patients.

Pharmacy2U were fined £130,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office following the sale of confidential information through marketing company Alchemy Direct Media (UK) Ltd.

The subsequent inspection by the GPhC and NHS England in April found the pharmacy had taken steps to prevent a further data breach.

A spokesperson for the GPhC said: “We are also taking further steps to gather all other relevant evidence.

“That evidence will be assessed in order to decide whether, and in what way, action will be taken against Pharmacy2U and against any registered pharmacy professionals employed by Pharmacy2U who were responsible for misuse of patient information.”

Lung cancer awareness month

Lung cancer awareness month is now underway and pharmacists are in a unique position to help raise awareness.

Pharmacists are ideally situated to spot symptoms in at-risk individuals that are often self-medicated, including a persistent cough, a persistent chest infection and breathlessness, and advise them to visit their GP.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society have released a quick reference guide and the British Oncology Pharmacy Association has a useful e-learning course to help brush up on the key points this November.

Pharmacy could be included in state-of-the-art medical centre

Proposals are being made to include an on-site pharmacy as part of a new £4m health centre in Bristol.

The East Trees Health Centre has opened to the public and houses two GP practices and community services, the Bristol Post has reported.

The premises in Eastville is one of the first built since the creation of NHS England in 2013 and has been applauded for providing its modern and efficient approach to healthcare.

Healthcare professionals required to report FGM cases

From Saturday (31 October) healthcare professionals will be required by law to alert the police if they treat a girl under 18 who has had FGM.

To coincide with the duty coming into effect, frontline healthcare workers will be provided with a package of resources to make sure they are equipped and confident to deal with cases of FGM.

The Department of Health, with the support of the NHS, Royal Colleges and most crucially survivors, has developed these resources to support healthcare workers and make sure that they are aware of their responsibilities towards girls who come into their care that have had FGM.

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